Category

Published on

29 Oct 2013

Abstract

The purpose of this independent study is to give students hands-on experience in using computers to model neural systems. A neural system is a system of interconnected neural elements, or units. Students will use existing computer programs which will simulate real neural systems. They will compare the behavior of the model units with neurophysiological data on real neurons. The neural system models will all perform a useful computation, and the similarity between the behaviors of model units and real neurons will give students insight into how the real nervous system may actually work.

Bio

Professor Thomas Anastasio is an associate professor in the University of Illinois Department of Molecular and Integrative Physioloy and a full-time faculty member of the Beckman Institute. His main research interest is in Systems Neurobiology, which he defines as the application of conceptual and computational methods to complex and multilevel problems in neurobiology. He is also involved in teaching, writing, and technology transfer.

My overarching professional interest is to understand the interactions that sustain brain function as they occur on the molecular, neural, and social levels. Until recently my research has mainly concerned computational modeling at the neural systems level, and I have written a textbook on this topic. My current research focuses on computer modeling of the molecular interactions that underlie brain function in health and disease.

Professor Anastasio's recent scholarly work involves exploring analogies between neural and social systems. He has taught in all areas of neuroscience but his current teaching is divided between an advanced course on neural systems modeling and a survey course on society and the brain. He maintains an interest in technology transfer, which began with the development of a self-aiming camera that was designed on the basis of a neural system model. He looks forward to future work for new insights derived from further multilevel explorations.